The WORST episodes of Father Dowling Mysteries
Every episode of Father Dowling Mysteries ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Father Dowling Mysteries!
The show began as an NBC Made for TV Movie in 1987 and the show was to have begun weekly in 1988 though because of a writer's strike in 1988 it didn't begin weekly until 1989. After it's 1st season the show left NBC and ABC took the show from 1990 until 1991. First Telecast: November 30, 1987 Last Telecast: May 2, 1991 Episodes: 1 TV Movie, 42 Episodes
#1 - The Joyful Noise Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/2/1991
The local District Attorney's office is home to bullets and ballots as deadly rivals battle for power. One man is already dead and an innocent boy has been charged with murder. Father Dowling tries to expose the real killer before a political rally becomes a blood bath.
#2 - The Missing Body Mystery (1)
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/20/1989
Father Dowling lands on the wrong side of the FBI after a dying man falls at his feet. Father Dowling puts the church in a bad light when he insists on tracking down the killer. While doing so, he seems to have helped botch a FBI sting operation!
#3 - The Falling Angel Mystery
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/22/1990
An "angel" visits Father Dowling and Sister Steve at the parish and delivers a stern warning that big trouble is hiding just around the next corner. One of the parishioners is about to be "charged" with the "crime" of guilt by association when it is revealed that his late father was connected with the underworld.
#4 - The Fugitive Priest Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/3/1991
Trouble is brewing for Father Dowling when his evil twin brother rolls into town. Blaine manages to frame his brother for a bank robbery, while protecting himself with a perfect alibi: He's been arrested for overdue parking tickets. With the help of Sister Steve, Father Dowling masquerades as his troublesome twin in order to track down his underworld associates.
#5 - The Hardboiled Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/28/1991
An author who used Dowling and Steve as characters in his murder mystery dies before its completion.
#6 - The Prodigal Son Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/31/1991
A blast from the past rocks Father Dowling's world when a man he's never met shows up claiming to be his son. The man disappears before Father Dowling can question him. And then his would-be son is charged with murder.
#7 - The Confidence Mystery
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/15/1990
A flim flam con-man has his eye on a valuable church receptacle that Father Prestwick is taking to Romania. He'll stop at nothing to get his hands on the monstrance, even if he has to permanently inconvenience Father Prestwick. It's up to Father Dowling and Sister Steve to put a cap on the con.
#8 - The Substitute Sister Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/10/1991
Father Dowling and Sister Steve are caught in the middle of the battle of the bugs when warring exterminators do battle over franchise rights. The plot is further thickened by a nun who isn't, a hitman who is and a mobster who will do anything to rescue his daughter.
#9 - The Showgirl Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/18/1990
A showy showgirl of a shady nightclub is surprised to discover that her late husband's estate consists of nothing but debts. Or is she the victim of a scam to deprive her out of a small fortune? The investigation reveals a motley crew of underworld characters as Father Dowling and Sister Steve go hunting for a suspect.
#10 - The Face in the Mirror Mystery
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 3/3/1989
When the good Father's evil half-brother shows up unexpectedly, Dowling suspects right away that the evil one is up to no good. After thwarting his brother's attempted diamond heist, Dowling finds himself in hot water when he discovers that the police can't tell the two brothers apart.
#11 - The Woman Scorned Mystery
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/1/1990
Is Father Dowling serving up a stew of lechery, larceny and murder? No, it's the work of his evil twin brother, Blaine, who is trying to lure lonely matrons into a phony investment scheme. Father Dowling is forced to masquerade as the wicked brother in a last-ditch effort to prove his innocence and pin the rap on the woman's real killer.
#12 - The Consulting Detective Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/25/1991
It is difficult to tell who is consulting with whom when Sherlock Holmes comes to the aid of Father Dowling. The pair prove to be an unbeatable team as they put their powers of deduction to the supreme test as eyewitnesses to multiple murders. There's only one hitch: No one other than Dowling can actually see Mr. Holmes!
#14 - The Monkey Business Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/7/1991
Father Dowling and Sister Steve go out on a limb when they kidnap a chimp accused of murdering an animal activist. The killer-chimp will be put to sleep unless they can prove it has been framed.
#15 - The Priest Killer Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/14/1991
When a rooftop sniper almost kills Father Dowling, Sister Steve goes undercover as a cab driver, hoping the flush out the would-be priest-killer.
#16 - The Moving Target Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/7/1991
A hired killer has a change of heart when he discovers that Father Dowling is his intended victim. He warns the priest that someone else is certain to accept the contract. Now it's up to Father Dowling to figure out who, and why, someone is out to get him.
#17 - The Missing Witness Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/24/1991
Sister Steve has disguised herself as a trashy lady-of-the-evening in order to track down a witness who can clear the name of a young businessman charged with murder. But was he really framed or is he actually guilty? Father Dowling is not certain.
#18 - The Royal Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/20/1990
It looks like a royal mess when Sister Steve find herself trapped in a Royal scandal. The Sister trades places with a frisky British noblewoman in order to infiltrate a trade delegation. Father Dowling has his hands full riding shotgun, trying to keep an eye open for the Sister's Royal killer.
#19 - The Mafia Priest Mystery (2)
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/24/1989
Undeterred by appearances, Father Dowling sets out to prove a young priest innocent of murder after he discovers the priest has been framed by a member of his own family. Nothing is ever easy, of course, and when the real assassin is himself killed, Dowling must rely on a family member who is too afraid to tell the truth. But tell it he must.
#20 - The Mafia Priest Mystery (1)
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/17/1989
Father Dowling finds himself caught in a bizarre mystery when he attempts to prove a fellow priest innocent of murder. Dowling and Sister Steve get more than they bargained for when they discover the young priest's family is indeed connected--to organized crime!
#21 - The Blind Man's Bluff Mystery
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/15/1990
Sister Steve has always been a trusting soul. It's part of her job, of course. So it is no surprise when she opens her heart to a blind man who seems to be in need of assistance. But she soon discovers that she has become an unwitting accomplice in a scheme to blackmail a prominent parishioner.
#22 - The Passionate Painter Mystery
Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 4/26/1990
Suffering for the sake of one's art is one thing, but this temperamental artist's talent might soon be hidden beneath a sad addiction to drugs and alcohol. And that's just the start of his problems. He's just discovered that someone is also trying to kill him.
#23 - The Legacy Mystery
Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 4/12/1990
Father Dowling has always enjoyed fine art, but someone is going overboard in their role as freelance art critic. A mystery thief is methodically stealing the art treasures that once belonged to the wealthy Cabot family. And Father Dowling has an inkling the thief might be the surviving son, Jonathan. The only question is why would a rich businessman take the risk of stealing the paintings when he could easily afford to buy them outright? And Cabot has perfect alibis for each theft. It looks like it's time for some of Father Dowling's old-fashioned digging for clues.
#24 - The Ghost of a Chance Mystery
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/8/1990
Father Dowling is more than a little skeptical when a young woman insists that her house is haunted. He agrees to investigate just the same after Sister Steve confesses that she has also seen some of the unexplained "happenings." Father Dowling concludes that something is indeed amiss, but is it the work of a person or a spirit?
#25 - The Pretty Baby Mystery
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/10/1989
Father Dowling and Sister Steve find themselves in the most unlikely role of parents when an abandoned baby is discovered at the rectory. When they attempt to reunite mother and child they learn that the mother is being chased by violent kidnappers.